76ers Would Be Wise To Woo LeBron, Wiser Still To Consider Kawhi Leonard

The Sixers reportedly covet Cavaliers star LeBron James, shown here in Game One of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday in Boston. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The debate among 76ers fans, as crazy as it sounds, is whether it would be wise to sign LeBron James as a free agent this offseason.

On one hand, you have folks who are quite certain he would be the final piece to a championship puzzle. On the other, you have those who wonder how good a fit he might be -- if his arrival might be problematic for a player like Sixers point guard Ben Simmons, since both are at their best when the ball is in their hands and they’re running the show.

During his season-wrapup news conference last Friday, Sixers coach Brett Brown responded to the latter concern coyly, as indeed he had to. Well aware he could be fined for tampering if he were to mention James by name, he told the reporters the following about his potential acquisition: “If this (ball-dominant) player you're describing was great, we'd figure it out. Truly, we'd figure stuff out.”

Brown said earlier in that same presser that the Sixers need a “high-level free agent” to take the next step in their progression; owner Josh Harris and general manager Bryan Colangelo echoed similar sentiments. That seems obvious, given not only their five-game loss to Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals but also the fact that the Celtics, who like the Sixers are very young, will welcome back Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward from injuries next season.

Meaning, very likely, that to get to the Finals for the foreseeable future, teams are going to have to go through Boston. There was more evidence of that Sunday, when the Celtics laid a 108-83 whupping on James’ Cavaliers in Game One of the Eastern Finals.

One question, though: How serious is James about leaving Cleveland after this season?

And one more: Would the Sixers not be wiser if they chased a younger, more positionally sensible option in San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard?

Both options are reportedly in play, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer, as is a pursuit of another free agent, Paul George (even though he just underwent knee surgery, which will leave him unable to work out for six to eight weeks).

James, for his part, is represented by Klutch Sports, as is Simmons. He is also close with Joel Embiid. But David Griffin, the Cavs’ former general manager, told The Ringer’s Bill Simmons during a recent podcast that he believes it is more likely James will go to the Lakers, another long-rumored destination.

And Griffin said in his estimation, James will make his choice not on the basis of where he would have the best chance to win, but on the option that offers “the best expression for what he wants the next phase of his legacy to look like.”

Whatever that means.

As outlined by The Athletic’s Derek Bodner, the Sixers have the cap space to accommodate James’ salary, which will be in excess of $35 million.

But they also appear to have the requisite assets to acquire Leonard, who turns 27 next month and is nearly seven years younger than James. Leonard is well-acquainted with Brown, a former San Antonio assistant, and more accustomed to working off the ball than LeBron.

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News theorized that the Sixers would have to part with Markelle Fultz, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a first-round pick (likely the one acquired from the Lakers, which will probably be No. 10 overall in next month’s draft, depending on the results of Tuesday's lottery) in order to acquire Leonard. McDonald also mentioned the Lakers, Clippers and yes, the Celtics as possible destinations.

A recent ESPN.com report detailed the rift between Leonard and Spurs management over the diagnosis and treatment of a right-quadriceps injury that kept him out of all but nine games this season. Then Bleacher Report, quoting unnamed sources, asserted that the divide is “beyond repair.”

Still, you’d have to believe that at some point Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will huddle with Leonard, in an attempt to mend fences. Or that Leonard, who this summer can sign a “super-max” contract with San Antonio (and only San Antonio) worth $219 million over five years, will come to his senses. No one else can give him anything close to that.

But right now everything is on the table. And the Sixers have pulled up a chair. As indeed they should have.